Advice needed re LGW/LHR flights

[Clarkd3]

Hi so I'm looking for flights to MCO for next August for 3A 1 teen and 1C

currently I'm looking at £5000 ish for LGW VA direct flights as a 'from' price however I've also seen outbound direct from LGW with indirect to LHR 'from' £3800

We want direct outbound as indirect previously wasn't the best experience. The thought of indirect home doesn't bother me as the first leg is still in USA time so... what I'd like to know is what's the best way to start from LGW and end in LHR in practical terms and is the extra hassle worth the saving?

If it's any help I'm lucky to be paying for this out of some inheritance but still don't want to pay more than we need to, we live in the midlands so LHR is nearer and we land on August bank holiday Monday!
Thank you

[Guest]

Given you land back on August bank holiday you can guarantee the trains won't be running and the M25 will be screwed.

The best option therefore would be to drive down the afternoon before, drop the rest of the party and luggage at a Gatwick hotel and then one of you drive to LHR and park the car and get public transport back (Piccadilly line to central London, change to Victoria and then Gat Express train)

The other option (which once you've added up 2 weeks car parking, one night airport hotel, travel between airport for one and meals that evening for everyone) could well be a taxi both ways - we now always use taxis to the airport as it's just so much easier

[Clarkd3]

Originally Posted by Guest

Given you land back on August bank holiday you can guarantee the trains won't be running and the M25 will be screwed.

The best option therefore would be to drive down the afternoon before, drop the rest of the party and luggage at a Gatwick hotel and then one of you drive to LHR and park the car and get public transport back (Piccadilly line to central London, change to Victoria and then Gat Express train)

The other option (which once you've added up 2 weeks car parking, one night airport hotel, travel between airport for one and meals that evening for everyone) could well be a taxi both ways - we now always use taxis to the airport as it's just so much easier

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Thank you for your help, need to do some pricing up, so do you think it be worth the extra hassle arriving and leaving from different airports?

[kiwiinabd]

£1200 savings is a reasonable chunk of money to save !

Another option would be to drive down in your group to LHR and park the car in a long term car park at LHR and then get a pre-arranged taxi to LGW

That stops the hassle of someone ferrying the car back to LHR and then travelling back to LGW

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Clarkd3

Thank you for your help, need to do some pricing up, so do you think it be worth the extra hassle arriving and leaving from different airports?

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If you do it by cab it's no hassle at all.

In terms of the other ways to do it, it will all be down to just how much you actually save. I wouldn't bother for a few hundred, I might for 700+ and I wouldn't give it a second thought if it was 1200+ (as you can get a cab from Newcastle airport to LHR for about 350 so from the Midlands it will be less - so you are still quids in)

[Bozza]

We've previously flown...

Gatwick -> Orlando
Miami -> Heathrow

...both were direct, but I think it's still the same departure/arrival scenario you are contemplating.

When we did this, I took the family to LGW and dropped them off at the Sofitel. I then drove to Heathrow and parked the car at a pre-booked car-park. I then got a National Express bus back to LGW (with a couple of cheeky cans of M&S gin and tonic for company).

This worked well for us, and meant the car was close at hand when we arrived back in the UK.